


Lovely

by em0spice



Category: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra | Phantom of the Opera & Related Fandoms
Genre: Gen, rip modern aus
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-14
Updated: 2018-03-14
Packaged: 2019-03-31 05:20:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13968171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/em0spice/pseuds/em0spice
Summary: Title is a work in progress as is the book ho ho :)





	Lovely

The hospital room was surprisingly bare, despite the fact the man who was currently settled there had been staying for over two weeks. There was little for him to bring in, he didn’t love material possessions like the rest of the world. His violin was resting in the corner, and a small bouquet of flowers sat in the one windowsill he possessed, yellow and red and orange. On a cloudy day like this, it was the sunshine to the man who was living his last few days in a hospital bed.

“I’ll miss you, Dad.”

“I’ll miss you too, Esy. I’ll make sure to say hello to Mom from you.”

The woman standing beside the bedside smiled emptily. She didn’t believe in afterlifes as strongly as he did. Her father seemed to sense that, and his hand reached out to clutch hers tightly. “I swear it, Esy. I’ll give her a hug, and I’ll tell her about the beautiful, strong woman you’ve become.”

“Can’t she see us from here?” Esy said, lightly jabbing at the subject. Her father had always been a logical man, and these incredibly unrealistic rambles seemed unlikely coming from his mouth. The panicked last words of a dying man trying to comfort his only child. Even during his last moments, Elias Hanson’s focus was towards his daughter.

“I’m sure she’d rather hear it from me.” Releasing Esy’s hand, Elias coughed, harsh, rasping coughs that indicated the cancer lurking in his lungs. Elias had never smoked a day in his life and had protected his voice with his entire being, yet this was his fate. The irony was not lost on him, or his daughter.

“Dad, you need to rest.” Beginning to pull up the covers, Esy was stopped suddenly by her father, his crystal-clear blue eyes focusing in on her. This was the first time he’d looked lucid in weeks. He hurt, and Esy knew it. Painkillers constantly fed into him didn’t quite do the trick. Elias Hanson hurt, but more than just physically. His voice and body was wrecked, and he was too tired, and too shaky to play the violin anymore. 

He had lost his music, and his life was slowly going with it.

“Eloise Hanson, listen to me. I will never abandon you.” The words were quiet, but firm. He ignored the tears forming in his daughter’s eyes as he continued with his promise, his tone the same firm, calm tone of a lucid, perfectly well man. “I’ll be resting plenty in a few days, just give me this.”

Eloise, though skeptical, intelligent, vastly doted on, and usually the one being listened to, kept her mouth shut. She was leaving in two days. She didn’t know if these would be the last words (well, the last understandable ones) he’d tell her or not.

“I will not leave you. Don’t think for a second that I’m letting you off the hook for your voice lessons.” Eloise smiled at that. She knew she had a gift, it ran in the family. Her father had the brain for music, and Eloise had grown up to learn the musical alphabet before the actual, full 26-letter alphabet. Her mother had been a singer, from what Elias had told her. Beautiful, ethereal. 

“Remember the stories I told you, when you were younger?”

“Oh, which ones? The ones about monsters?”

“No.. think younger.”

Eloise paused, tapping her lip as she tried to humor her father. He’d told her countless stories, sung her millions of folk songs that explained the tales of tragic lovers. Lost heroes and terrifying monsters had filled her childhood. Monsters and beautiful princesses, dark caves and towering castles. Music and campfires outside, big blankets and sweaters had weaved those tales deep into her heart. Even now, when she knew they weren’t fake, Eloise could still tell the stories, remember them perfectly.

Because, to her, her father had made them real. Even if for a moment in a dark summer night, but they had been real.

“You told me about angels.”

“Yes, Eloise. Angels.” The smile that spread across her father’s face was indescribable. It’d been so long since she’d seen him smile like that.

“I’ll send one to you.”

Eloise smiled, the kind of smile that you gave a little child who told you about the dragon that lived under their bed. Humoring, accepting. Her father must’ve taken another dose of painkillers, and they were just now kicking in. Good, her father needed to rest.

“Don’t smile like that at me, Eloise. You know as well as I, that I do what I say I’ll do.” His expression wasn’t angry, just disappointed, like he’d seen this coming.

“Eloise, I’ll send an angel to you.”

“Get me one that can help me pay my bills then, okay?” Eloise snapped, but then stopped herself. She couldn’t do that to Elias, not ever. She took a breath, then smiled. “Alright. Tell me about which angel you’ll send.”

Elias smiled, and reached out to squeeze his daughter’s hand. “One that will protect you, Eloise. You’re so smart and talented..” Elias sighed, discontented and a little regretful.

“They’re gonna eat you alive at that damn school of yours.” Ah, it’d come down to this. The music school that Eloise was moving to in two days. The music school that was not in her home country of Sweden, but far away in the loud, bright, insane United States. She wasn’t even sure if she’d be able to make it to her father’s funeral. He had told her not to go, but she felt wrong leaving before that. Like she was abandoning him.

Ignoring her father’s pointed stare, Eloise chose to listen instead of speak. “Well, you’ll need a powerful angel. A protector. Someone that will keep you out of harm’s way, no matter what the circumstances. And, he needs to be able to teach you how to sing.” Leaning back on his pillow, Elias stared up at the ceiling, as though he could see the stars above. 

 

“I’ll put on auditions, and the best singer gets to go down to you. I won’t stop until I’ve found the best, someone who can actually manage your skill.” 

Eloise’s teacher had been her father. Any attempts at voice coaches had just never worked. It was though her father could ignite the music in her that nobody else could. Eloise wondered if she could still go through after her father was gone.

“Ugh, could you get him some flaws? I’d be bound to hate him sooner or later otherwise.” Eloise teased, and Elias laughed.

“Of course you’d hate him. Don’t worry, I’ll get a good angel. He’ll have some kind of flaw, sooner or later. But I promise, he’ll be the best singer you’ve ever heard, and you’ll never have to be afraid when he’s around. Alright?” Elias paused, and then added quickly, “And perhaps, I could get a nice son-in-law and some grandkids out of the mix.”

He was joking, of course. Right?

“Mmmh, I’ll think about it.” Letting go of his hand, Eloise grabbed the covers once more, pulling them up to his shoulders. “Why would you send an angel down to this place, anyways? I mean, the Earth kinda sucks.”

“There are angels in hell, Eloise. I’m sure this angel can handle a few idiot Americans bothering my daughter.” Elias’s speech was becoming slurred now, and his crystal-clear gaze was wavering. “Eloise, I won’t be seeing you again. I love you dearly and endlessly. I’ll never lose sight of you, wherever I am.”

Eloise couldn’t respond, so she held her father’s hand until his eyes shut. The calm way he’d told her they’d never see each other ripped into her heart. The calmness of his tone was unnerving, and Eloise was suddenly praying to whatever being existed in heaven that her father was wrong, and she’d be able to visit him before her flight.

But her father was never wrong. Not about notes, not about music. Never about what he needed to do for his daughter. Elias Hanson was never wrong, because he knew everything that would happen. His mind was methodical, everything was planned. 

If he said he was going to never see his daughter again, he would never see his daughter again.

If he said Eloise would be visited by an angel of music, she would be visited by an angel of music.

And that angel would rain down glory and hell to save the music his daughter so feared to lose.


End file.
